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I could see it in her eyes. She wanted to defy me. However, she reluctantly nodded instead.
“Good girl.”
Her jaw clenched.
“Trust me, Cove. I know this is really hard for you, but you have two choices here. You can either listen to every order I give you or…” I paused, letting my words sink in. “You can die.”
She opened her mouth but quickly remembered my warning.
“Good girl.”
She scowled at me, mouthing, “Please.”
I sighed, unwillingly giving in to her. “Ask.”
She didn’t hesitate. “This is bullshit! You break into Deacon’s home and murder him in cold blood, and now I’m just expected to trust you when you kill my boyfriend for what? What the hell is going on?”
I didn’t waver in my reaction. “Deacon wasn’t who you thought he was.”
She narrowed her eyes at me.
“And neither am I.”
“I don’t understand.”
“And you’re not going to.”
“Try me. Please. I need to know you’re not going to hurt me.”
“For now, you’re safe with me.”
“For now?”
“Do you want to live, Cove?”
“Of course.”
“Then you’re going to have to trust me.”
“Trust the asshole who murdered the man I love?”
“You didn’t love him, bunny.”
“Don’t you dare tell me how I felt about Deacon, Jace.”
“You loved the man you thought he was. The one he pretended to be to make you fall for his bullshit. You were just a target to get to me.”
She jerked back. “To you?”
“Everything from the moment you met him in the gas station has been a lie. Starting with his name, to his age, to where the fuck he lived. Nothing of the man you thought you knew—”
“That’s not true!”
“You can’t be this naive.”
She winced, not trying to hide it from me. “So he was just using me?”
I shrugged. “You made it easy for him to.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief. It was blatantly obvious that her mind was spinning out of control. The realization of my statement caused her more turmoil than it did ease.
She peered around the room, avoiding my eyes. Her emotions were getting the best of her.
“I want to go home,” she whispered so low.
“You’re not safe there anymore. You need to be here.”
She frowned, tears pooling in her eyes as she bowed her head, defeated. “With you?”
“Yes. With me, bunny.”
“You promise you won’t hurt me?”
Unable to avoid it, I instinctively demanded, “Look me in the eyes when I’m talking to you,” as if she was just another hostage I was interrogating.
She peered up at me through her long, dark lashes as a few tears streamed down the sides of her face, but she instantly wiped them away, not wanting me to see her looking so weak.
Still, she didn’t understand I could read her like the back of my hand without even trying.
“You’re safe here for the time being,” I answered her question the best I could. “Deacon wasn’t who you thought he was. You can’t go home because now you’re in danger from men like him.”
“Men like you too?”
“Something like that.”
She gave me a questioning stare. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you in danger too?”
“Bunny, I’m always in fucking danger. It comes with the territory of who I am and what I’m trained to do.”
It hurt her to hear the truth out of my mouth. I could tell she felt bad for me, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t faze me.
It did.
Much more than I cared to admit.
I couldn’t remember the last time someone did.
“Did you know Deacon or whatever his name was?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.”
“I suggest the next time you fall in love with a man—”
“I thought… I just thought… I mean… I’ve never had a boyfriend before him, and I thought… he loved me.” Her eyes rimmed with fresh tears. “I finally found someone who did.”
I blew off her response, refusing to let it sink in. Knowing exactly why she felt the need to share that with me. I couldn’t help but notice how tiny and vulnerable she appeared. How exposed she was to me at that moment.
For a woman who hid behind her strength, it was hard to watch. At least it was…
For me.
She slowly licked her lips, trying to govern her unsteady breathing. Hoping I didn’t realize how much she wanted me to touch her.
Hold her.
Comfort her.
I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
I wasn’t made like that.
“None of this makes any sense to me.”
“The more questions you ask, the less it’s going to.”
“If he’s a liar, then what are you?”
“Right now, I’m Jace Beckham. Your best friend’s older brother.”
“Right now?” she coaxed, meeting my eyes. “What does that mean?”
“It means in a few short hours, I’ll need you to be someone else too. If you want to stay alive, you’ll have to follow my rules.”
She shook her head. “I thought you were retired military?”
“I am.”
“Does your family know—”
“Anyone who knows what I do becomes a target, Cove. In order to keep my family safe, they think I’m just retired military now.”
